Super Bowl LVIII set Las Vegas on fire with a close matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs, who repeated against the San Francisco 49ers in overtime.
However, for the sports casuals and fans of entertainment alike, pop star Usher’s halftime show performance was a highlight that was both lauded and lamented simultaneously. For many, the appearance of songstress Alicia Keys was the “little ballad moment that could” but failed for many reasons.
Boxer Gervonta “Tank” Davis took to social media to let the world know that if he were Swizz Beatz, the hit music producer husband of Keys, Usher would have had a real problem under the hot lights of Las Vegas after the performance.
“Usher would’ve been on the way to the hospital as I write this is I was Swizz..,” Davis tweeted during the game.
It was no secret that Usher gyrated behind and hand-pantomimed Keys’s assets before grabbing her from behind at the end of the performance to laughter from Keys. The singer looked phenomenal in a red shimmery bodysuit that detached from an epic flowing red cape. Her beauty, natural talent, and presence fed directly into their rendition of “My Boo,” and Usher did what he always does, perform intimately.
However, for Tank, thinking on behalf of the typical man who doesn’t have to worry about Usher performing with their wife in front of millions of people, Mr. Raymond was too close for comfort. Other viewers kept the topic hot on social media with quips like, “who was held tighter during the Super Bowl: Nick Bosa or Alicia Keys,” prompting Beatz to respond.
“Y’all talking about the wrong damn thing !!! y’all don’t see that amazing dress covering the entire stadium,” Beatz wrote on Instagram. “Tonight’s performance was nothing but amazing with 2 amazing Giants ! Congrats @usher and my love @aliciakeys that song is a classic (heart emoji) We don’t do negative vibes on this side we make history (peace finger sign),” he finished before reminding the world to check out his art collection exhibit GIANTS at the Brooklyn Museum.”
Being too close for relationship comfort is on brand for Usher, who had another controversy last year with Keke Palmer during his Las Vegas residency. The viral video moment last August where Usher singled out Palmer showed them slow-dancing while serenading her with his hit, “There Goes My Baby.”
Palmer’s boyfriend, Darius Jackson, fed into the side-eye energy at the time, criticizing her sheer dress and black bodysuit on Twitter, saying “It’s the outfit tho…you a mom.” He immediately caught an “L” in the court of Black Twitter opinion for his take but doubled down with: “We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn’t want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & he gets told how much of a hater he is.”
Swizz Beatz took the path of pacificism, having seen what can happen to a man critical of Usher’s performance chemistry with their romantic partner. Luckily for others like Tank, his Las Vegas residency is complete but he left an explanation for those who need help understanding the Usher performative methodology.
“Every night I’m thinking about how the world now is going to react to this moment that I’ll have with whoever I’m choosing to sing to,” he said to “Entertainment Tonight” back in August 2023. “But it was a pop moment, and it was fun to have at least conversation going and we just keep it light. I don’t see anything negative happening in Las Vegas.”
So relax and take that to the Tank — I mean, bank.
